Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 5: Two members of the Supreme Court Collegium have objected to a letter sent by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit seeking their consent to appoint four judges to the apex court, reports Bar and Bench.
Earlier Hindustan Times had reported that CJI Lalit had in an unprecedented move written a letter to his fellow judges in the collegium seeking their consent for appointment of four new judges to the Supreme Court.
The following names were recommended for elevation in the letter:
- Justice Ravi Shankar Jha (Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court)
- Justice Sanjay Karol (Chief Justice of Patna High Court)
- Justice PV Sanjay Kumar (Chief Justice of Manipur High Court)
- Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan.
The Collegium holds physical meetings to discuss names for elevation, as is customary, and consensus of the five judges is sought.
According to sources, the two judges objected only to the unprecedented nature of this “letter by circulation,” not to the candidates who were recommended, because “(Collegium) deliberations are involved” before recommending elevations.
According to the sources of Bar & Bench, the two judges took objection only to the unprecedented nature of this “letter by circulation,” and not to the candidates who have been recommended, “since (Collegium) deliberations are involved” before recommending elevations.
A source informed Bar & Bench that the CJI had sent the letter to all the judges of the Collegium on October 1, following which two judges refused to grant consent.
According to a source, the CJI sent the letter to all of the Collegium’s judges on October 1, after which two judges refused to grant consent.
The Collegium was scheduled to meet on September 30 to confirm names to be recommended for Supreme Court appointment. However, the meeting could not take place because the second most senior judge, Justice DY Chandrachud, was in court until 9:10 p.m. that day.
